We are feeding about 10 or 11 folks for Thankskgiving dinner, with mostly traditional fare being served. I would like to offer a red and a white, preferably American to fit in the theme. The two who will probably consume the most (myself excluded) tend to keep box wine in their fridges, but I have sworn off having that anymore.

I'm thinking maybe a Zin for the red, but not sure about the white. I am open for suggestions, need to keep it inexpensive though, maybe $12-$15 max.

Hello-
The November issue of Bon Appetite has an interesting article on Zinfandel for Thanksgiving, along with suggestions.
I like Rosenblum Zins, one that I know is a nice value is their vintners cuvee which fits in your price range.
Cheers,
Mike-

I expect a Rodney Strong Chardonnay would be available for close to your price range for the white. Not bad. You might be able to find Michael Pozzan Chard also - I paid $6.99 on sale at BevMo in September.

Robert, I agree with you that on this one day, serving American wines is the best possible choice. Which makes zinfandel a great choice for your red in more ways than one--in addition to having a uniquely American identity, the fact that it's so fruity it has a reasonable chance of going pretty well with everything on your plate including the cranberry sauce and the candied yams. For the same reason I'd probably choose an equally fruity and forward chardonnay. Of wines you'd have a good chance of finding almost anywhere and that are available in the price range you specify, in spite of the fact that I'm no fan of Gallo the company, I have to recommend Gallo of Sonoma for your chardonnay choice.

Just returned from the wine shop with:
Gruet NV Blanc de Noirs bubbly to start the feasting with ($14.99);
EOS 2004 Zin (on the recommendation of the wine store guy, I decided to splurge a little - $13.99);
Rodney Strong 2005 Chard ($10.99);
plus a Sandeman Ruby Port, Georges Deboeuf 2007 Beaujolais Nouveau (which I'm having a glass of as I type), and a couple of others to make a mixed case. All at 10% discount for buying 6 bottles or more.

Robert, I would agree with you about the zin for red, and I would recommend a chardonnay that is not too acidic, Maybe one from the Central Coast as it will most likely have tropical fruit flavors instead of apples and other stronger acid flavors.